Ten Years On

by Alice Peterson

[Leah]

Last year I read, and quite enjoyed, Alice Peterson’s novel Monday To Friday Man. So much so that I was really looking forward to her next book Ten Years On. When it landed on my doormat, I was thrilled and it accompanied me to the Doctor’s one day (I’m fine if you’re wondering, just a pesky cold). In fact, as soon as I started the novel I was glued. I had a half day at work and I spent the three hours before I started work reading the novel. At the moment that just doesn’t happen for me. I have literally zero time to read but I finished Ten Years On in two days flat. It’s the quickest I’ve finished a book in about 5 months if you would believe that and it’s a read I really enjoyed, and one I really recommend.

Ten Years On is quite a simple novel really. Telling the story of Rebecca, who after the death of her husband moves back to her childhood home, and who finds herself back in the same country town as her ex-best-friend Joe, with whom she had a falling out with 10 years previous. We trip back in time to discover exactly what happened between Rebecca and Joe, and we see them in the present as they attempt to re-build their friendship and as we see Rebecca attempt to get her life back on track. Totally simple premise, and it’s executed with pace and flair that will keep you glued. What happened between Rebecca and Joe isn’t kept a huge secret and quite a bit of the novel is a bit easy to figure out, but what it is, is it’s readable. Massively readable. Alice Peterson has the writing style – much like Kinsella, Costello, Toon, and others – that keeps you turning the pages and from start to finish I just rushed through it at lightning speed.

I just thoroughly enjoyed the book. The premise, the writing, the characters, they were all a delight. There were no silly dramas, or anything and it was just purely enjoyable. It was a big step up from Monday To Friday Man and Peterson is definitely an author to look out for. I like her writing style, I like how her plots are that little bit different to what we sometimes see in Chick Lit and even though her books are easy to figure out, there is something massively comfortable about them, too. I don’t have any complaints at all and I just found it so lovely to get so lost in a book and it was well worth my time and it was a nice way to spend an afternoon and a morning before work!